


Sometime Sanity (Takes Vacation Time On Me)

by soft_princess



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV)
Genre: Community: maleslashminis, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-10-05
Updated: 2008-10-05
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:40:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23041126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soft_princess/pseuds/soft_princess
Summary: Accidents happened. Xander knew that. He knew that really well, even. It had happened to Giles more often than Xander could count.
Relationships: Rupert Giles/Xander Harris
Comments: 1
Kudos: 2





	Sometime Sanity (Takes Vacation Time On Me)

**Author's Note:**

> Written for wisdomeagle in the Xander round @ maleslashminis. Request found after the fic. Title from Savage Garden's "The Best Thing"

Accidents happened. Xander knew that. He knew that _really well_ , even. It had happened to Giles more often than Xander could count. It was like a rule for them that about once a week someone would get hurt. Sometimes it was just a grazed knee, other times...

"How is he?" Xander asked when he saw the doctor coming towards him.

"Mr. Giles will be perfectly fine," the doctor answered. "His tailbone is bruised, and he has a few cracked ribs, but he'll be right as rain in a week or so. Provided he doesn't overwork himself." She said the last part with a glare at Xander, as if he was the one responsible for Giles getting his ass kicked on patrol again.

"I'll make sure he gets some rest."

"Good. He will experience some drowsiness from the painkillers we've given him, but he doesn't have a concussion, so you don't have to try and keep him awake," she said. "I just need him to sign the release form, and then he'll be good to go."

"Thanks." Xander turned to the bed, arms crossed over his chest. "Come on, Giles, time to go."

Giles refused to be pushed to the front door of the hospital in a wheelchair. When he made a move for the car keys, Xander grabbed them and shook his head. "Nuh uh, no way." The _seatbelt_ was going to hurt, there was no way Xander was going to let him drive that car. Besides, Giles' eyes were drooping and it was clear from the way he was walking that sleepiness wasn't the only side effect of the really cool painkillers the doctor had put him on. "Get in," he said, opening the passenger door for Giles.

Getting Giles in the car proved to be the easy part of the "Watcher caretaking" job. Giles fell asleep on the way, and Xander to manhandle him from the car to the front door before he did more than put a foot in front of the other. "Uh, where am I?" Giles asked, blinking sleepily at the door.

"Home," Xander replied tersely. "Can you hold yourself up? I need to lock the car and get our stuff out of the trunk."

"Yes, yes," Giles said sleepily. He leaned against the banister and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

Xander would have opened the door for him, but he was worried Giles would faceplant to the floor the moment he walked in, and that wouldn't be any good on his ribs. It took Xander a minute to grab the weapons' bag from the back of the car and make sure all the doors were locked. Giles was still standing there, blinking in the soft light of the street coming from the street. Xander put down the bag next to the door and held out his hand for the keys. "They're in your jacket pocket," he said when Giles raised an eyebrow at him.

"Oh, right," Giles replied, shaking his head to clear it. "Those painkillers are--" He stopped, frowning again. "Here." He gave Xander his key ring, and scratched his neck. "I suppose sleep would be--yes."

"You sound so stoned," Xander said with a laugh. He filled the thought away to tell the girls when--probably not soon, but it was still the good kind of funny. He got the door opened and threw the bag in out of the way. "Come on in, now, big guy. Can't really carry you can I?"

Giles replied, frown still in place, "I suppose not."

"You gonna be able to get upstairs?" Xander kicked the door closed with his foot and locked it again with one hand on Giles' lower back.

"Yes, I will." He scowled, sounding a little bit too much like a child about to throw a tantrum. "I'm not incompetent, you know."

"Oh, I know that," Xander replied tersely. "But I also know your ribs and your tailbone are hurting like a bitch, and stairs? Not so much with the easy."

"You do have a point," Giles said, sighing and sounding a little bit more aware than he'd been a moment ago.

Xander muttered "Come on, lets go," and helped Giles walk to the stairs. "Okay, one by one, and we'll get there."

It took them about two minutes to climb, and Xander had to hold him up the whole time. That wasn't all about Giles' injuries though, Xander was almost one hundred percent sure the painkillers had something to do with Giles not being able to keep his balance. "There's your bed," Xander said once they were up. "Aren't you happy to see it?"

Xander was happy to notice Giles' eyeroll--one point in the "still normal" section--and he grinned. "I'm thinking I can help you out of your shoes and your pants, but the shirt's gonna hurt."

It hadn't hurt when the nurse had helped Giles put it back on in the hospital, but that had been over an hour ago, when the painkillers were at their most efficient. Still, Giles bore the undressing with barely a grunt, and then let Xander help him lie down.

"Okay. I'll get you a glass of water," Xander said, putting the bottle of painkillers on the nightstand. "Do you need anything to eat? I'm thinking I'll set you up, and then go sleep in my own comfy bed, and I'll be back in the morning."

Giles gave a lolling nod, his head almost dropping forward against his chest.

"Okay then." Xander ran back down the stairs and rummaged through the cupboards, finally coming upon a half eaten box of crackers. Set with that and a full glass of water from the fridge, he went back upstairs. Giles' eyes were closed, but he said "you can stay," when Xander had made it to the landing. Xander hadn't actually been listening. Giles looked... peaceful like that, and that wasn't something he was used to seeing. "Huh?"

Giles opened his eyes, watching in a daze while Xander put the glass and the crackers down. "You can stay. Don't have to go home. Is late." The words were slurred and Giles looked just about ready to conk out.

Xander blinked. He couldn't really mean exactly what Xander had heard; Giles really couldn't be inviting him to _stay_. Sure, Xander had noticed that Giles had been a little more... _touchy-feely_ lately--hands on Xander's lower back or his shoulders, even a hug that one time they managed to dust four vampires in one night with barely a scratch, and there was that time where they'd been sitting in the living room, watching a movie Xander had chosen, for once, and Giles had been leaning so close Xander could _feel_ him; and that's not even mentioning the _smiles_ \--but... No way.

But Giles was patting the pillow next to his awkwardly, his eyes closed again, and that looked like a pretty straightforward invitation. And okay, maybe Giles wasn't exactly in his right mind at the moment what with the pain and the medication, but when would another opportunity like this arise? Never, that was when.

By the time Xander had made up his mind and was unbuckling his belt, shoes off and toeing his socks away, Giles was snoring. The position he was in, straight on his back with his head cushioned by a thin pillow, didn't look all that comfortable, but Xander didn't want to risk waking him up trying to make him more comfortable. He shucked off his pants, keeping only his t-shirt and boxer shorts on, and ran downstairs to turn off all the lights. The bed was warm when he finally settled underneath the comforter.

He looked at Giles for a moment, his grin held off only by worry, and tried to imagine what it would be like to wake up in the morning, with Giles next to him like this. Giles _snored_. Xander tried not to laugh. He wouldn't have a problem sleeping with the noise, he'd slept through worse, but it was still kind of weird to think of Giles has the kind of guy who snored. Kind of loud too.

Xander settled down against the pillow and reached out to turn off the lamp. He fell asleep with a smile on his face.

"--dy hell!"

Xander snapped awake and sat up, blinking in the morning light. It took him a second to remember where he was, and when he'd finally placed the patterned wallpaper, he turned to Giles. "You okay? Anything hurts? Did you take your painkillers?"

Giles was rubbing his face, his free arm held over his torso. "I'm not bloody okay, and yes, I do hurt. I would have taken my painkillers if I hadn't been surprised by having _you_ in my bed. What are you doing here?"

Xander blinked another few times. "Huh. You said I could stay. So I stayed," he tried. He held the covers over his midsection, and was very grateful that he'd kept his shirt. Giles really didn't look happy to see him. So much for the morning after...

"I don't remember offering you the other side of my bed. You do know I have a perfectly respectable couch downstairs, don't you?" Giles bit back a groan and then yelped when he reached out for the bottle of pills next to him. "Bloody things."

"Let me help," Xander said, leaping out of bed and getting the bottle opened. "Here." He put two pills in Giles' hand, then handed him the glass of lukewarm water. "I... you were patting the pillow, I thought..."

"Oh." Giles leaned back down, and groaned. "I have no recollection of that at all." He was staring straight at the ceiling, his eyes away from Xander.

"Yeah, looked like an invitation to me, but I guess..." He shrugged, gathering up his clothes. "I'm sorry, I'll go now." He could feel his cheeks flushed and warm, and he knew he had to get out before he said anything more incriminating. He'd told him a dozen times that nothing good could come of this crush, and this was the perfect proof.

Giles' grunted "Wait" stopped Xander before he could get to the stairs. Xander turned back and found Giles sitting up again, apparently unaware of the pain. He was looking at Xander this time. "Did you want it to be?" Giles asked.

"What?"

"An invitation."

"Huh," Xander said, lifting his eyebrows. It hadn't been obvious? "I slept here, didn't I?"

"Oh," Giles said again. "Oh, I--well, I suppose..."

"You suppose what?" Xander put down his clothes on the chair next to the dresser.

"Well, I hadn't thought--that is, I suppose I might have been inviting you to stay here, in my bed, last night. I was quite stoned, you know, it's entirely possible I may have lost what little self-control I have."

"Self-control?" Xander sat down on the edge of the bed, just close enough that Giles could reach out and touch him. If he wanted to.

He did. Giles put his hand on Xander's and said, "Yes, I've... Putting words into complete sentences seem to be difficult today."

Xander laughed, squeezing Giles' fingers. They were about the only part of him that wouldn't hurt. "Yeah, I got that. So, you're not, you know, angry?"

"No, I--I'll just say that while you surprised me, my anger wasn't directed at you, but rather at myself. I almost--I made to reach out for you. The pain stopped me. Then, of course, came the realization of exactly what I was doing," Giles whispered the last part. "If it--It wouldn't have been badly received then?"

"No, it wouldn't," Xander replied. He cupped Giles' cheek, but held off kissing him when Giles' face contorted in pain. "Lay down, you're gonna keep hurting yourself like this."

Giles gave a stiff nod and sighed once his back was down again. "I never let myself hope, you understand."

"What? That I wouldn't say no to some flirting? And probably other things? I mean, a year ago, yeah, I'd have freaked out, but we've spent the last four months hanging out, and I... I understand _stuff_ now."

"Stuff?"

"You're the wordy guy," Xander countered, smiling. "You get what I mean anyway."

"Yes, I do." Giles closed his eyes again, and muttered, "I think the painkillers are working."

"You rest, I'll see if I can put breakfast together." Xander squeezed Giles' fingers again and stood up.

"Xander?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you," Giles said, smiling crookedly.

Xander shrugged, cheeks flushed again. "Anytime, big guy, anytime."

The end.

**Author's Note:**

> Request:  
> Male character they want paired with Xander: Giles  
> Up to three things they want in their fic: Sleepiness, laughter, and a misunderstanding.  
> Up to two things they don't want: Death.  
> Preferred maximum rating: R  
> No comics canon.


End file.
